21/10/2021 European Conference of Presidents of Parliament
"Speakers of parliament have an unparalleled responsibility. Their role, your role, is to place yourselves above partisan politics to ensure the smooth running of debates, procedures and decision-making in the national interest. This non-partisan stance is not, however, synonymous with an absence of principles," said the Secretary General of the Council of Europe addressing the participants of the European Conference of Presidents of Parliament.
As representatives of the people, “parliamentarians have a duty to set an example”, added Marija Pejčinović Burić. "Our Organisation has always helped governments and parliaments to deal with the problems they face, in the light of the common standards to which they have freely agreed," she said.
This will continue to be the case "in the face of rapidly changing situations and new challenges", such as violence against women and domestic violence, the issues raised by artificial intelligence, and the ongoing fight against trafficking in human beings for labour exploitation.
"We must all do what we can within our own mandates. So today is an opportunity to share your experience and reflect on how to move forward. For it is by working together in parliaments, governments and at the international level, that tomorrow will be better than today," concluded Ms. Pejčinović Burić.